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Christopher Brennan's avatar

Okay, I'm still reading the post on cargo cults, but man this is amazing. It's striking how quickly they came up with new myths to explain strange new phenomena—which fits with suspicions I've had about myths form, but nice to have documented.

Also, this is a hilarious aside: "Heaven, which is not (as you may have been told by some foolish people) in Sydney, Australia, but rather in the sky above Sydney".

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Bob Jacobs's avatar

[warning: whinging about EA ahead]

> personal connections with major effective altruist funders are probably too important as a way of getting grants.

Yep, been saying that for years for all the good it did me: https://bobjacobs.substack.com/p/how-democratic-is-effective-altruism

> Lessons from history for animal advocates: [...] Conversely, changing institutions and laws is an effective tactic.

Been semi-futilely saying that for years too: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/contra-deboer-on-movement-shell-games/comment/44608185

> I was shocked to learn about the role of Facebook in the genocide against the Rohingya.

Been futilely trying to get the Rat/ACX-sphere to understand this too: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/moldbug-sold-out/comment/115530658

If you wondered what could cause someone to get burned out on EA.

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